For those who do not know, Jake got very sick about 2 1/2 years ago and was diagnosed with feline lupus. Jake has a strong, fighting spirit and with a lot of work and tons of worrying, we both Got through it and Jake bounced back. Even when many told us it wouldn't happen. See this thread (long but worth reading through) for more information: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...ght=Jake-+sick
This was Jake's 3rd flare up since the initial one. He didn't get the sores like he did the first time but when he would go through stress he would stop eating and/or get an underlying infection, stop eating and lose weight and get fatty liver. This last time his poor little liver must have just been through too much trauma and wouldn't bounce back.
This last time I thought I caught it early. I noticed he was losing fur and had lost about a pound or so. I started the antibiotics, prednisone and syringe feedings right away. He'd get better, then worse, better and then worse. He'd eat well for a few days and then not eat at all. Even though I kept up the syringe feedings I couldn't get any weight back on him. The vet just kept encouraging me to do what I was doing because all we could do was supportive care. It was either going to help or fail.
Tuesday night I saw Jake limping so I took a look at him and discovered both legs and his ear on the left side were swollen and his left ear (the inside of it) was deep purple. He was painful when I touched them even gently. The next morning I got up for work at 3:30 A.M. and noticed he was much worse and barely able to walk. I put food and water near his litter box so he wouldn't have to move much and went to work. I made a Vet appointment and left early. When I got home, I picked up Jake to put him in his carrier and had blood on my fingers. He didn't have any cuts or anything but he was bleeding through the pores of his skin.
I Got Jake to the vet and they tried to do some tests, including billirubin (CBC) and clotting factors. They could only get a couple drops of blood from him and even that clotted as it was coming out. I knew that meant his liver wasn't controlling clotting as it should, which also meant he was in end stage liver failure. The vet said they could keep him and try Heparin IVs, stronger antibiotics and prednisone but she didn't think he'd make it through the treatment and they'd have to put the IV in his jugular because his vascular system was deteriorated. At that point I told them no, enough is enough. I spent 20 minutes holding Jake and talking to him and then the Vet came in and gave him the injection. Jake passed away less then 30 seconds later peacefully in my arms as I pet his head, rubbed the bridge of his nose (he loved that) and planted kisses on his sweet little round cheeks. Then I laid him down on the exam table, laid my head down on him and cried really hard for about 1/2 hour. My poor little Buddy Boy was gone and my heart was and is empty.
Last night I kept thinking I saw Jake. I saw him as I walked into the kitchen, laying in his food bowl eating like he always did. I saw him laying off to the side when I got on the computer for a few minutes, I saw him when I woke up in the night laying on his pillow next to me in the bed. And I saw him this morning laying on top of the covered litter box (another favorite place). I got home from work tonight and almost started calling for him. I always used to come in and say, "Buddy.... where are you?" And he'd come out as if to say, "Here I am!"
About Jake: Jake was a gentle, loving, kind spirit. You picked him up and he'd give you a hug by wrapping his paws around your neck. You look in his eyes and you would see his soul. I loved his sweet, round cheeks and kissed them all the time. Jake liked catnip bubbles, catnip pillows and string toys. He liked to lay and sometimes play in the bathtub. He also liked to lay on the bathroom vanity as I did my hair in the morning. Jake was also fond of playing rough house on the tall cat tree. He also liked to play peek-a-boo on the cat tree. He checked out every bowl of food before Peaches would eat. He'd just kind of sniff it and then step aside as if to tell Peaches it was safe. He did that with Hallie too, when she was alive. Jake liked to follow me and always liked to be where ever I was in the house. I also called Jake my lion king because when he was healthy, he had a beautiful, full coat especially around his face. Don't tell Peaches,
I wanted to write him a poem but I'm not good at that. This was the best I could do.